A Compilation of the Senses
by hummerhouse
Summary: Mikey is determined to help his brother out of a funk by teaching him something about himself. One shot, 2k3 based. Tcest (not explicit): Mikey/Don/Mikey. Preview art a kiriban prize from the gifted ashitarimai on Deviantart.


A Compilation of the Senses

Michelangelo was damn good at reading his brothers. It wasn't merely his years of practice or the fact that they were nearly always together, it was also a special gift he had, sort of like a sixth sense.

It hadn't required much of his talent to see that something was off about Donatello. The genius had been withdrawn and quiet for weeks. He'd participated with his brothers in the usual stuff but somehow it didn't seem as though all of Don was there.

Don's demeanor had started to change around the time that April and Casey had announced their engagement. It was subtle, but Mikey's skill at observation had taken it in. Or maybe it was because Mikey had sort of expected Don to react and had been watching him. Whichever it was didn't matter; what mattered was the timing.

Mikey couldn't imagine that Don still felt something romantic for April, he'd seemingly given up on that notion long ago. That fact had made Mikey happy for some inexplicable reason. He'd always been bothered by Don's crush on the human, not that Mikey felt anything beyond a kid brother type of affection for April. He figured it was because he was jealous when Don gave anyone else his attention.

Standing near the couch after having fished the game controller out of the cushions, Mikey found that he'd lost interest in the idea of playing anything. Mikey was restless; he thought he had an idea about what was bothering Don, but wasn't sure how to approach him.

From the corner of his eye he saw Don wander out of his lab and into the kitchen. A couple of minutes later Don came out again, holding a fresh cup of coffee as he turned back towards his lab. Don looked like a drone and Mikey was pretty sure caffeine wasn't going to help with what ailed him.

Tossing the controller down, Mikey headed after his brother, finally deciding to get to the bottom of Don's problem. Don had given the door a shove as he reentered his sanctuary but it hadn't clicked shut, so Mikey walked right in.

He stood for a moment looking at Don, who had taken a seat at his desk. The genius was completely oblivious to the fact that someone had come in, which in Mikey's opinion, showed a certain lack of ninja skills.

Don had just raised the coffee cup to his lips when Mikey pushed the door closed with a very audible snap. Startled, Don jerked and sloshed coffee to the rim of the cup, steadying it before it could splash on him.

"Thanks for knocking first," Don said, licking his lips to get the coffee off of them.

Mikey watched the action of his tongue, mesmerized for a second by the darting pink appendage. "Anytime bro'," Mikey responded with a grin.

"Whatever you broke I don't have time to fix it," Don said, setting his cup down. "No, I don't want to play a video game. I'm sure the prank is epic, but I don't want to get involved."

Walking over to the desk, Mikey grabbed a nearby stool and plopped himself down near his brother. "Haven't broken anything important to me in the last four hours. I'm not in the mood for a video game either. Raph threatened to run my mask through one ear and out the other if I pranked him again, so I'm waiting until tomorrow to do it," Mikey responded.

Don eyed his youngest brother suspiciously. "I know I shouldn't ask, but what do you want?"

"A few minutes of your time," Mikey said, "and an explanation."

He knew he had Don's attention when the genius turned away from his laptop to look Mikey in the eye. "What kind of explanation?"

It was now or never. Mikey hadn't really thought about what to say but he decided to wing it. He'd let his instincts guide the conversation.

"Are you upset that April is marrying Casey?" Mikey asked bluntly.

"What?" Don looked surprised. "No. Why would you ask that?"

"Because dude, you've looked like a refugee from a zombie movie ever since they announced their engagement," Mikey answered. "If it's not that, then it's something else that's bugging you and we both know it'll be better if you talk about it."

For a second he thought that Don was going to deny the mood he'd been in, but then Mikey saw a brief flash of relief in those deep, chocolate colored eyes. It was plain to Mikey right then that Don needed to vent.

"I suppose the truth is that it is partly because of April and Casey," Don said with a sigh. He pushed his cup with his fingertips, slouching down a little more in his chair. "I never told anyone this, but before April met Casey she kissed me."

Mikey's eyes widened. That was something he never would have guessed and he didn't much like it. With an effort he kept Don from seeing that as he asked, "Did you guys have a thing?"

Don glanced up, a whimsical smile hovering at the corners of his mouth. "A thing? No, Mikey, we didn't have a thing. It only happened that once and it was only because April got tipsy at the end of a hard day at work. I think she was down because she wasn't making much money in the shop yet.

"She was babbling and I wasn't paying much attention because I was trying to sort her receipts. Suddenly she was right there in front of me, telling me she thought I was cute. April wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me and of course I kissed back."

"'Cause you had a crush on her and still do," Mikey said. "You _are_ upset about the engagement."

Shaking his head, Don said, "No I'm not, Mikey. You don't understand. As soon as we kissed I knew I didn't want to be with April."

Mikey frowned. "That doesn't make any sense bro'."

Don wiggled in his chair. "This is hard to describe. I'm better with equations and numbers than I am with words, but I'll try. I could barely _feel_ her. Not just on an emotional level, but literally with my senses. April's mouth is too small and her body seemed too frail, I thought I was going to break her and I couldn't hold her properly. She didn't even taste good; not just the wine, but _her_ and when she moaned the sound was actually grating.

"I couldn't feel much more than a tiny bit of warmth from her hands and she didn't know where to put them. Then there was the smell; it was too strong." His face wrinkled at the memory. "That close all of the scents she uses on her hair, her clothes, her body; they were cloyingly sweet. Everything was physically unappealing. Shell Mikey, it was actually revolting in a way."

"What happened after that?" Mikey asked, thoroughly curious now.

"I said I had to go home and she needed to sleep it off," Don said. "I'm pretty sure April sensed that I didn't enjoy it and she probably didn't either. We never talked about that kiss and I'm not even sure she remembers it. I'm thrilled that she and Casey got together because no matter what, April is still my best friend and deserves to be happy."

Mikey was now more confused than he'd been when he'd walked through the door. "So what about that has been bothering you these past few weeks?"

If possible Don looked even more morose. "Their engagement reminded me that I'm never going to find someone to love that way. Even if I met a human who was attracted to me, my experience with April taught me that I can't share that feeling. I'm guess I'm not genetically predisposed to an out of species attraction. Is it just me?"

There was a plea in his voice that tore at Mikey's heart. Don looked hopelessly forlorn and Mikey couldn't take it.

"No Donny, it's not just you," Mikey said. "Humans are great to have as friends, but every time I try to think of one in a romantic way it makes me gag. And you're right, they do look breakable. I'll bet they can't last very long in the sack either, not as long as a turtle can."

The reference made Don laugh and then he sobered up again. "It kind of sucks, doesn't it?"

If Mikey wanted an answer to the thing that had been bugging him, now was the time to try and get it. Hopping off the stool, he stood in front of his brother and said, "Stand up."

Don looked up at him with a puzzled expression. "What are you doing?"

"Get up," Mikey repeated, stressing the words. "I wanna try something. It's an experiment, you like experiments don't you?"

The wariness was back on Don's face. "I like them if they don't involve you breaking something."

Mikey gestured with his fingers to indicate Don should rise. "I'm not gonna touch anything."

Still unsure, Don slowly stood up. As soon as he did, Mikey wrapped his arms around his brother.

"Well, I'm not gonna touch anything but you," Mikey amended.

The hug was nothing more than brotherly, so Don returned it, enjoying the comfort that Mikey gave him. After a few minutes there was a subtle change in his brother's position as Mikey pressed his face against the side of Don's and tightened his grip.

Almost without thought, Don turned his head slightly, rubbing his cheek against Mikey's. He suddenly noticed how good his younger brother smelled; it was a musk reminiscent of earth and clean water and a deeper scent as well, one that beckoned to a more primal side of Don's nature.

Mikey moved closer to him then and Don experienced the strength in Mikey's arms and body. Don could feel his brother's hands start to move over his carapace; Mikey's long, powerful fingers dipping into the grooves and his nails periodically scraping across the scutes.

Only another turtle would understand how compelling and stimulating it was to have the grooves of the carapace stroked. The sensation started to excite Don and his heart began to beat a little faster.

Pressed together, plastron to plastron, Don realized he could feel the beating of Mikey's heart as well. When Mikey shifted slightly, the resulting rasp of friction caused by the thick plates on their chests drew a gasp of arousal from the genius.

Don's mind wanted to tell him it was wrong to feel like this for his brother, but his instincts called for more. He was torn with indecision, hovering on the border of denial and ecstasy.

"Is this the feeling you were searching for?" Mikey whispered against his head.

Drawing his face back so that he could look at Mikey, Don found himself nearly drowning in his brother's clear blue eyes.

"Yes," Don hissed and pushed his mouth against Mikey's.

Their lips melded together perfectly, opening simultaneously as though in sync. Mikey's thick, warm tongue curled around Don's and tasted absolutely incredible.

Mikey's churr was the sweetest music Don had ever heard and he churred in response. Every one of Don's senses was alight with pleasure and he forgot to have reservations about what they were doing.

"Nature," Don rasped when they finally broke the kiss.

"I know," Mikey said with confidence.

"It calls us to our own," Don said, feeling enlightened. "Through our senses."

"You're so smart," Mikey said, petting Don's hip. "Touch me some more."

"Gladly," Don replied, doing everything his brother asked of him for the rest of the night.

END


End file.
